


A Price To All Actions

by Mary_chat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29524731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_chat/pseuds/Mary_chat
Summary: After many efforts, the Butterfly had got its hands on the Miraculous of Ladybug and Cat Noir. However, he did not know that, in order to call upon this absolute power which he had so longed for, he would have to pay a very heavy price.
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous, respectively holding the power of creation and destruction, had ended up falling into the hands of the Butterfly a few days earlier. He had achieved this feat by appealing again to Volpina, the only one among his victims who still had all her resentment and who had been really close to succeeding in her mission, and by acting himself: the vixen girl had succeeded. luring Ladybug to get her earrings back while Cat Noir had convinced him to give her her ring.

This was how Gabriel Agreste had finally reached his goal… and he knew that, this time, neither Marinette Dupain-Cheng, nor her son Adrien could stand in his way. Now he had the power to fulfill his dearest desire: to find his missing wife.

Only, he did not know that in exchange for his wish, he would have to pay a heavy price.

The very moment the two teenagers had come to try to stop him, he had started to express his wish. A golden light had started to appear and he had continued to call his dear and tender ... before hearing Marinette's cry of distress. Gabriel Agreste had turned his head and noticed with horror that his only son Adrien was lying on the ground, unconscious. Seeing the golden sparks coming out of the teenager's body, he realized he had to choose between his child and his wife. It was impossible for him to have both.

Faced with this cruel dilemma, he made the most difficult decision of his life: he canceled his vow, giving up all hope of finding his wife.

However, if Adrien was alive, he still hadn't woken up. Since that famous day, he had been plunged into a deep sleep and Gabriel, consumed with guilt, spent all his nights at his son's bedside. He hadn't wanted to send him to the hospital, knowing full well that the doctors couldn't do anything for him. The teenager had been installed in his bedroom, hooked up to several devices to make sure he was okay. The official version that the stylist had circulated through his assistant was that his son was seriously ill and was being treated at home.

That afternoon, he had done everything to take care of the most urgent tasks and left Nathalie to handle the rest until the next day. When he was alone, he sat down in the chair he had moved next to the bed and his eyes fixed on Adrien's peaceful face. His kwami, Nooroo, came to rest next to the pillow.

—What can I do to redeem my mistake? Gabriel wondered desperately. How could he forgive me after all I have done to him?

“I'm sure he will, master,” Nooroo replied, his gaze fixed on the devices that were connected to the teenager. It might take some time, but things will work out.

Knocks on the door interrupted them and the kwami hastened to hide.

"Monsieur Agreste, visitors for ... Monsieur Adrien," Nathalie announced behind the wooden panel.

“Bring them in.

Only those who were authorized could enter the Agreste mansion and, apart from the staff, the list had been very short in recent days. Only one person was allowed to come and see her son because he, like him, knew the exact truth. It was no surprise to him to see Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aka Ladybug, appear in the room. What intrigued him, however, was the man who accompanied him: obviously of Chinese origin, he was small and his dark eyes were filled with a certain wisdom.

With the door closed, this stranger observed Adrien at length, stroking his goatee.

-Hello Mr. Agreste, politely greeted the teenager before indicating the one who had come with her. I present to you Master Fu who is the one who keeps the Miraculous.

“They also call me the Great Guardian,” added the sage. Marinette asked me if I could fix this.

For the first time in recent days, a glimmer of hope was visible. For long minutes, Master Fu examined the teenager, frowning as Wayzz, the sage's kwami, imitated him, sometimes asking Nooroo a few questions.

"Can you give me the black cat ring?" asked the old man. I would like to check something.

Marinette quickly rummaged in her bag to take out a hexagonal wooden box which she gave to Master Fu. He opened it, revealing the silver jewel inside, then took the contents between his fingers, examining it from all angles. Frowning, he went to stand next to the sleeping young man.

“When the absolute power held by the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous is used, their kwamis use considerable energy,” the sage explained, passing the ring on Adrien's right ring finger. Interrupting him also had consequences for them.

“Yes,” the teenager agreed sadly. Tikki still hasn't reappeared.

“I don't know how long young Adrien will stay like this, but if he wakes up, it will most likely be the same day as Plagg, his kwami. Both need to recover and it will take much longer than for Tikki. The only thing to do is to wait.

Little hope had revived at these words. It wasn't much, but they had no choice but to hang on and wait ...

After Master Fu and Wayzz left, Marinette went to sit at her partner's bedside and took his hand gently. Gabriel Agreste looked at his son's face again, watching for the slightest sign that he was regaining consciousness. A long silence reigned in the room for several minutes.

“He told me once that he felt lonely,” said the teenager, her blue eyes filled with sadness. Back then I didn't know he was Cat Noir but now I understand why he always seemed so happy when we fought together.

“Adrien was internalizing his pain,” Nooroo conceded, looking at the young man. Becoming a Black Cat must have offered him an escape from his daily life.

Then silence reigned again, interrupted only by the sounds emitted by the machines present in the room. After a while, Nathalie came to tell her employer that he had an important meeting in a few minutes. Gabriel Agreste reluctantly followed her and after making sure he was ready, he asked his subordinate to give a duplicate of the keys to the mansion to Miss Dupain-Cheng. It was the least he could do to try to redeem his mistake ...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette keeps coming to see Adrien in the hope that he will wake up one day. Finding out about their friend's condition, Nino and Alya set up a project together while Chloe refuses to believe that Adrien is in a coma ... at least until she sees it with her own eyes.

It had been a month since Marinette had taken some of her free time every day to go to the Agreste mansion and stay around an hour by Adrien's bedside hoping he would open his eyes or his kwami would wake up. However, nothing had changed: the boy she loved was still in a coma while Tikki and Plagg remained asleep in their Miraculous. It was difficult for everyone, especially for her and Gabriel Agreste, but they also had to manage their own lives.

If the stylist had slowed down his pace of work to stay by her son's side, the teenager, now that she could no longer don Ladybug's costume until Tikki had returned, had a little trouble keeping up with the Classes. Still, she had more free time but she was using it to visit her partner so that he didn't feel alone and in the hope of seeing him wake up.

As for his classmates and friends, all were shocked to learn that Adrien was not coming back. Nino and Alya had of course tried to find out what was going on and neither had been convinced by the official version. Because of this, Marinette had taken them with her to the Agreste mansion and… their friend's condition horrified them.

The budding journalist, for the first time, didn't know what to say. As for the DJ and music lover, he had stood for several minutes planted like a stake in the middle of the room before reacting by trying to shake the shoulder of his best friend, without success. Then after a moment of heavy silence, he had an illumination: if Adrien could not see them, that did not mean that he could not hear them!

This is how Alya and Nino set up a project together: create a montage of photos that had been taken with their friend and then ask anyone who wanted to record a comment on the images. Max had been debauched for the occasion to help make the film and Marinette, the next day, addressed all her comrades to ask them to participate. Almost all agreed without hesitation. Lila, unsurprisingly, hadn't seemed interested and no one was going to change her mind after all the lies she had told. The other exception was Chloe who seemed to find this more than suspicious or who just didn't want to believe in reality.

When the mayor's daughter came to see her to ask her why she could go see Adrien and not her, Marinette chose to ignore her instantly, no longer having the heart to fight verbally with her. Except that her old enemy had no intention of letting go and was harassing her for her answers. As a result, she ended up retorting violently that she had only to come with her if she wanted to know so much. The plague in the class was a little confused by this reaction but she had accepted because it was, in the end, what she wanted.

However, the instant Chloe saw Adrien in a coma with all these devices plugged into him, an expression of pure horror painted on her face before his legs gave way under her. Fearing that she would feel unwell, Marinette had called Nathalie and the latter had escorted the mayor's daughter out of the room. She then remained alone at her friend's bedside for a good hour.

When she left the Agreste mansion, the young designer immediately noticed that her comrade was sitting on the steps, busy looking at photos on her phone.

"How do you manage to bear to see him like that?" Chloe asked sharply without turning to her.

“I don't want him to be alone, that's all,” Marinette replied frankly.

There was a slight silence between them and then the mayor's daughter stood up and stared at her, revealing her eyes clouded with tears and the mascara that had run off, a sign that she had cried. The young designer, surprised to see her in this state, rummaged in her bag and handed her a handkerchief that her rival took without a thank you before using it to wipe her tears and blow her nose. A minute passed before the blonde spoke again.

“My mother died when I was seven,” Chloe said, her gaze vague. She fell asleep at the wheel of her car and she was in a coma for several days, also connected to a lot of strange devices.

At this moment, Marinette understood the reaction of her comrade to the sight of Adrien: she had not only been shocked but had also relived an event which had traumatized her.

“My father still regrets taking me to see her at the hospital,” she continued. I just wanted to go see her and… well, you got it I guess.

A slight silence fell again during which the mayor's daughter stared at her phone again.

“Have you and Adrien been friends for a long time? asked the young designer seeing scrolling photos of her fellow child on the screen.

“Since we were six years old, why? Chloe replied, staring at her, one eyebrow raised. How can that interest you?

“So you probably have pictures of him and some memories you might want to share, don't you? Alya and Nino could include them in their project if you agree.

The mayor's daughter's blue eyes widened in surprise, obviously not expecting this proposal.

“I…” Chloe started, looking in turn at her phone and Marinette. I'll think about it…

Then she put her cell phone in her bag and stood up. She went down the steps before stopping at the bottom of them, suddenly turned to the young designer.

-And don't you dare tell anyone about what I told you Dupain-Cheng! the blonde exclaimed before turning on her heels and hurrying off.

Faced with this reaction, Marinette could not help but roll her eyes, telling herself that Chloe always remained the same, no matter what the circumstances.

The next day at school break time, everyone came to give their photos to Alya and Nino while Max took care of classifying them all in chronological order. Then suddenly, Chloe and Sabrina had put on the table a box full of photos and films that Chloe had made with Adrien. What immediately intrigued Marinette was the ten letters she had attached to them, to which the mayor's daughter replied that Adrien, so as not to let her father know, had secretly sent her letters. handwritten to ask how to enroll in college.

At the end of the lessons, Nino had asked to borrow an empty classroom to record the audio messages with Max and almost the whole class was in line - the two absent were Nathanaël who had never really bonded with Adrien but who had donated some drawings for the project, and Lila, which didn't surprise anyone.

If the majority had stayed a maximum of five minutes, Chloe had not left the room for a good quarter of an hour and when she had finished, the few chattering in front of the door had ceased when she saw that the girl of the mayor was not as usual. Sabrina had rushed to show her to the girls' bathroom and then she had brought her to her limo a few minutes later.

All night long Nino and Max had been working on the cut and it was no surprise that they arrived a minute late for class the next day, both half asleep. Alya checked their work at lunch break and, after two thumbs up and a few smiles, she handed him the DVD.

It had been agreed from the start that Marinette would be the messenger and, as a result, she had informed Nathalie Sancoeur of what her comrades were preparing and when she called her to tell her that the film was ready, she assured her that when he arrived, everything would be in place. When she entered Adrien's room after class, she noticed that Gabriel Agreste's assistant had not lied: a flat screen had been brought and installed on a piece of furniture at the end of the double bed as well as a player. DVD. Speakers had been added to the sides and everything was visibly functional.

The young designer would have liked to wait for Mr. Agreste to join her but he had not been able to cancel his appointments and she was therefore alone with Nooroo when she started playing the record.

_“Hi Adrien! Since it's been a while since we've seen you and we miss you, we thought we could say hello to you. "_

Unsurprisingly, it was Alya who was onscreen with Nino, both of them waving friendly hands.

_“You know buddy, it's not the same when you're no longer there! I no longer have anyone to help me in chemistry lab and I can't copy anymore. Ouch! But uh… I was kidding! "_

_"I'm not so sure given your math test score last month." "_

Marinette smiled at this little bickering between her friends.

_"Anyway, we worked like crazy to give you this little gift so we hope you like it." "_

A transition image passed on the screen, during which the young designer chooses to approach Adrien and take his hand in hers. He often did this so that he knew he was not alone.

Then the photo parade began with pictures of Adrien and Chloe when they were children. Unsurprisingly, the voiceover was that of the mayor's daughter recounting how she and her childhood friend liked to play hide and seek in Le Grand Paris when they were seven and quit the day they were scolded by their parents because one of them had chosen a rather dangerous hiding place. Afterwards, they had confined themselves to quieter activities and Chloe explained that she still had the teddy bear he had given her when he had known that she had just lost her mother.

The first photos of Adrien came to college and this time it was Alya who had spoken again. She began by explaining that if Chloe had not lent them this secret correspondence, no one would have known that it was thanks to her that he had been able to go to college. The budding journalist confessed that the plague of their class had good in it but that it was necessary to look well to find it, on which one could hear Nino strongly approve.

Photos taken during activities and sports were accompanied by the voices of Kim and then Alix. Both were eager to reunite with their mate and challenge him in friendly competitions, especially Kim. Max had clarified that he was impatiently waiting to be able to face him again on Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

The following footage included footage of various activities they had done in class, all with encouraging comments from Rose, Mylène and Juleka and then from Ivan and Sabrina - the latter even offered to make a copy of all of her lessons for. so that Adrien can catch up or organize an evening to study together.

Then saw pictures of outings with friends where Alya and Nino described all the plans they had in mind to have a good time with him. If some were as simple as a good movie, others were a little more outlandish ...

The last footage showed the few times she and Adrien had gotten together.

_"I'm not sure what to tell you you know… I promise I'll try not to stammer too much this time." "_

Marinette was in a bit of a precarious position at the time as a lot of what she wanted to say was about their double life between them and so she had spent quite a bit of time thinking, to the point of being. nervous.

_“My parents can't wait to see you again, you know. They adore you and they said that if you wanted to come and eat at home one day, they would be happy to welcome you. My mother's uncle likes you too and I think without you I wouldn't have really been able to understand him when we met him and me. You really helped me a lot, especially since I was really afraid of having made a bad impression on him… ”_

At that moment Marinette had a funny feeling, as if something had moved in her hand. Looking down, she realized what had happened: Adrien was squeezing her hand in hers. Weakly, certainly, but for the first time in a month, he had reacted.

_“I'm not sure what you think of me. I'm super clumsy, I don't really trust myself, and I have been unable to behave normally with you. In addition, things had started really badly between us with this story of chewing gum! I really thought you were like Chloe back then but when you lent me your umbrella I realized I had misjudged you and that's when I got you really appreciated. "_

She felt Adrien's thumb moving on her fingers in an emotional gesture. It was clear to Marinette by now that he heard everything and, as with every perceiving her in distress or demoralized, he comforted her as best he could, regardless of whether he was wearing his Cat Noir mask or not.

_" Oh darn ! Your umbrella! I promise to return it to you one day, swear! "_

“Marinette?

Nooroo's voice brought her back to reality and she turned her head to see that the kwami was handing her a handkerchief. She brought her free hand to her face and felt it was wet. Since when exactly had she been crying?

“Thank you,” she said, taking the handkerchief.

“Master Fu said to keep hope,” the kwami told him optimistically. Adrien is still there and we know it now.

Yes, his friend, his partner and his love was still with them. They had to wait the necessary time so that he could be fully back, but nothing that this gesture had just confirmed to him that she should not leave him alone, especially after all he had done for her.

She would stay by his side until the day he woke up and then… she still ignored him because they had never had the opportunity to speak after discovering their secret identities. Even though she dreaded this moment, she knew that they needed to have this discussion and that it was likely to be complicated.

But hey, something in her told her that they would remain good friends at least.


End file.
